Corridor of Uncertainty
by Meinos Kaen
Summary: The first ever Naruto Web Novel. Many routes and forks are in the future of the main character. Which ones will he take? What choices will he make? What Endings will he stumble upon? This time, it's up to YOU to decide. TO BE REMOVED, DETAILS INSIDE
1. Prologue and Rules

**The Project is Unveiled!**

Hello, thar. Meinos Kaen here.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, for the joy of cricket fans, **Corridor of Uncertainty**.

A Web Novel, not a _simple_ Fanfiction. What's the difference? Well, I'll explain by telling you how I arrived to this idea. As those who have read the **Countdown to 10.000** post, the start was in a dream I had. Well, it basically was what Naruto would be like if it was a Visual Novel instead of a Manga, with all the consequences of the changes, including Naruto himself being aware of the fact. Multiple choices, routes, the possibility to quake up with said choices. I thought it would be a fun story but I wasn't about to get to writing yet another one... Then, I thought of not making it a _story_, not a normal one. I thought, _'What if I emphasize on the __**Visual Novel**__ aspect?'_.

Thus, I did. I began thinking of the mechanism, how to integrate the multiple choices, the various routes, the alternatives. What came out was something that I _liked_, that I thought other people could like, _really_ like. And thus, I decided it would become a permanent feature of my blog. What follow are the details for Corridor of Uncertainty.

**The Placement:** As you can see, the _Counting Down..._ tab has changed to _Corridor of Uncertainty_. That will be where I'll keep a copy of the rules and the story's index. Each new story piece posted will be then linked there, in three versions: _Original Blog Post_, _Online PDF File_, _PDF File Download_. On I will post the story in the order and progression that result from my blog's polls. You **can't vote by review or private messaging**, if you want to have a say in the story's progression, use the Polls on my blog, Storie In Rosso.

**The Routes:** For those who are not familiar with Visual Novels, they are videogames that make their writing their strong point, and most of them have multiple _Routes_ tied to multiple endings. Especially when it comes to those with _adult scenes_, each of these Routes is tied to a different girl, and so will be in this story as well. Each route will be tied to a different _female partner_ for our main character, and the focus of the narration will be for him to get as _many different ones_ as possible.

**The Choices:** Like in every Visual Novel deign of this name, at a certain point the main character is presented with choices that will determine the progression of the story and eventually which ending he will get. This will happen here as well, and _**you**_ will be the ones presented with the choices, which will be resolved by _Polls_. The most popular choice will be the one I'll use to advance the story.

**The Story Progression:** I will post, starting with today's Prologue, a written piece up to the next C_hoice_, which will open up a _Poll_. The Poll's duration will depend on how much further the story will progress in-between the result of that specific choice and the next one. At the Poll's end, I will post the next written piece and so on, until we reach an _Ending_. Upon reaching an Ending, there will still be a Choice with a Poll, that will let you decide up to which past Choice you want to go back to. Exactly like a Visual Novel, the fun doesn't end with the first play-through.

**The Endings:** There will be three kind of Endings but not each route will have one of each. The three kinds are: _**True Endings**_, the authentic ending of a route; _**Good Endings**_, endings that in a way or another are better than True Endings; _**Bad Endings**_, endings that you want to avoid at all costs and you have to watch out for, since sometimes the conditions for getting one will be _subtle_.

**The Lemons:** Yep. I couldn't live with myself if I took this out of something based upon _Visual Novels_. There will be lemons, at least one for each route. Sometimes it won't be the _True_ endings the one you'll need to achieve to get to read one, and sometimes the difference between an ending's lemon and another will be substantial. The Lemons **will only be posted on my blog** and later on on my account on .

Not that difficult to remember, is it? Especially the last part, I bet. Heh. Well, I can say no more. The story thus begins. I leave you to this tale of comedy, romance, disasters, eroticism, randomness. This time, with a great difference: this time, _**you choose what comes next**_. The first pool is up already. Read, and then _**choose**_. _**You've got the power**_.

Meinos Kaen out!

**Corridor of Uncertainty - Prologue**

"_For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned." _- Unknown

_**Disclaimer:** Naruto and all its characters, places and situations are property of Masashi Kishimoto-Sensei. Everything else is an original creation of mine._

"If this is really all there is to it, I'm so going to throw a tantrum." He glared at nothing. Not because his gaze was unfocused but because there was nothing to stare at. "Aaaargh! Enough! Screw you, _white_!"

He couldn't describe it as anything else as he let himself fall only to float at the level where he had been walking. It was so strange. He could feel something hard as he walked but as he let himself fall to the ground, he felt something as soft as a jelly, but in both cases the fact remained that he couldn't see what he felt under his feet or back. No matter the direction he moved his eyes to, all he saw was an endless white expanse.

"Aaaargh! I want ramen, I want a bed, I want to see Sakura-chan and the others! I WANT IT ! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" True to his words, Naruto started throwing a tantrum. Flailing arms and legs, rolling around on the floor, screaming out to no one in particular. Till he ran out of breath. Again, he found himself staring at white. His breath was now ragged as he wiped the sweat off his forehead and gulped air. "But, that's the point, isn't it? I can't... I can't."

With breath, came realization. Acknowledgment. He had lost track of time since he had ended up there but it must had been at least two weeks, and he sure as hell remembered what had happened before. The pain was all too fresh. He shivered. All the others. Gaara. Bee. He had watched it happen to him. "I can't because _I failed_."

He never realized that just _a thought_ could hurt so much. Maybe it was because of how much had been riding on his shoulders, the expectations of his parents being the least of it. The thought of having lost his life and the most important battle he had ever fought along with it stung like a son of a bitch. It stung his very soul, if such a thing was possible. He brought an arm to rest over his eyes. "I wonder if this is how mom felt when-Wait a minute."

He suddenly shot up in a sitting position. "Wait just a _damn_ minute! Why am I dead?" Now that he thought about it, the same thing had happened to his mother. She had had the Kyuubi extracted from her but she had also told him that she had _survived_ it! She had told him that Uzumaki had exceptional vitality and longevity! "Then, why the hell did _I_ kick the bucket because of demonic extraction while mom didn't?"

Now, he cringed. She could just imagine her mother shouting at him. 'What, should I have died right there? You little ungrateful piece of condiment! You wouldn't have survived if I did, _dattebane_!'. He shivered. "S-Sorry, mom. I didn't mean it like that. _Also_!" Another piece of information hit him. "If this is the afterlife, why the hell am I _alone_? Shouldn't there be lots of people? Aaah! I don't get it!" He rubbed his head energetically, till it hurt. Maybe that was how he got the gears kicking, because the proverbial light-bulb went on above his head. "Then... Maybe this isn't the afterlife!" He got back on his feet. "Maybe I'm not dead!" Then he realized something else. "THEN WHERE THE HELL AM I?"

He fell to his knees, palms on his face. He didn't know if he would die of starvation before going crazy-Oh, wait. He had noticed he didn't get hungry. He would definitely go crazy.

_Creeeak._

He stopped physically damaging himself. He turned his head around. His jaw dropped. "You've got to be-!" A door had just opened. The problem was that there wasn't a freaking door in that spot a few meters from him just a few meters from him. "Ok, _asshole_! Very funny! HAHAHA-_freaking HA_!-God, did I ever swear this much?-Now get the hell out here! What is this, Genjutsu?"

If it was, he had no way of breaking out of it. Kurama was gone so he couldn't break it for him and he had tried, but he couldn't do it on his own. If it was a Genjutsu. He glared daggers everywhere around him, pivoting on himself to the point of making himself dizzy. "Ugh. My head's spinning." He settled down and focused on the door, which was just slightly ajar towards the inside. "You want me to go through it? Is that it?"

No one answered. Instead, the door moved a bit more, another creaking noise echoing in the white space. "Fine, fine." Naruto groaned, stomping his way to the door and halting in front of it. "Like I have a choice." He swallowed and, a frown on his face, he slowly opened the door. Again, white. "Ah." But this white was warm, enveloping. He smelled flowers. "It's-!"

-I-

_Hanabira zenbu o torigataru_

_Sono ato atama wo tabetagaru..._

"Aah!" With a startled gasp, Naruto sat up in his bed, covers falling from his chest in his lap as he stared at his closet, alarm clock diffusing music in the air. "What..." He threw his hands to his face, patting it for good measure. Everything was in place. "I'm-Is this my apartment?" He threw off his covers and opened the shutters of his window. He gasped and opened the window, trusting his head outside. It was Konoha. "I can't... This is-Hey, kid! What day is it?"

"Buy a _calendar_, idiot!" A bit taken back by the curt answer, Naruto pulled his head back inside and closed the window.

"No doubt, this is Konoha, then... I-I didn't die! I didn't die!"

-I-

"Tsunade-sama, these are the last ones." Tsunade raised an eyebrow as Shizune presented to her a small stack of papers. She could easily hold them in one hand.

"Seriously? Only 11 AM and we're already finished with today's reports?" The blonde Hokage leaned back in her chair and raised her gaze to the ceiling. "Someone loves me, upstairs."

"Tsunade-sama, this is the top of the Hokage Tower." Shizune chuckled at her sensei's antics. "It doesn't get any higher than this."

"Well, then let's just get those out of the way and enjoy a relaxing day, for on-"

"Baa-chan!" That's when the doors opened forcefully, the ANBU almost intervening before they realized it was Naruto.

"Brat, how man-!" The retort at the rude entrance and the use of that nickname died on her lips as Naruto caught her in a bear-hug, much to both the surprise of both women. Tsunade went stiff and blushed, while Shizune let the other papers she had been holding fall to the floor, her jaw slack and eyes wide. "N-Naruto? What the hell?"

"What? Can't I hug my favourite baa-chan in the whole world?" He pulled back and grinned widely at her. Tsunade recovered enough to smile and rap him in the forehead with her knuckles.

"It's not... A problem. But the _suddenness_ almost caused my Anbu guards to skewer you in place." She chuckled as he noticed the two masked guys glaring at him from the other side of the opened doors. "So, what made you so desperate for a hug? You feeling touchy-feely?"

"Well, I just felt like running around the whole village. You know because-Ah, by the way, why am I not in the hospital?" Shizune had recovered her composure and the papers from the floor, and she joined her mentor in staring at Naruto in confusion. The shinobi stared back, confused by the fact that they were in confusion. "You know, because I ghklha... Heh?"

"... What?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow and tried to make sense of the strange sound that had just come out of Naruto's mouth. Problem was: Naruto was doing the same.

_'What the-Did I just mess up talking?'_ He clicked his tongue a couple times, to make sure that he hadn't an injury or anything else that impeded the oratory. Nothing. "Ehm, sorry about that. I mean, I thought that you would put me under observation after gakhalrya hupphafied huahuahua." Naruto finished the sentence with his tongue hanging out.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" Shizune asked, worried, while Tsunade tried to make sense of what was transpiring in front of her eyes, which included Naruto pulling at his tongue. "Is this-I mean, want to go the hospital? Something wrong with your mouth?"

"Eh? N-No! I feel fine, I don't need to go to the hospital, it's just-Wait a minute." It seemed that the pieces of puzzle in his brain clicked in place at the strangest times. He had just walked through Konoha and climbed the Hokage tower. "Wait a minute! This-This can't be possible!" He stared out of the window. "The tower-No, the whole Konoha! It was doagoled why wail!"

"... Brat, I think you need a check-up." Tsunade declared. "Shizune."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune replied enthusiastically, really worried about Naruto.

"I-I'm alright! But really, wail! Don't you remember heil?" _'WHAT THE HELL?'_

-I-

"Shizune-nee-chan, you're worrying me." Naruto's nerves were currently a wreck. Shizune had been going over his test results, which had took hours, for more than thirty minutes. They had skipped lunch and it was getting really late. "Out with it! Is there something wrong with me?"

"No." Shizune replied, settling down the bunch of papers and X-Rays. "Nothing's wrong with you. Your body and chakra are fine, Naruto, and that's what's unsettling me." The black haired woman sat down in her chair, giving Naruto a worried look. "I just can't find a clinical reason for your... _Situation_." She sighed heavily. "Are you-"

"Shizune-nee-chan, do I look like someone who would make people worry with such a stupid prank?" Naruto cut her off, a frown on his face. "I'm telling you: I try to say something, only gibberish comes out."

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't want to offend you, it's just..." Shizune sighed, lowering her head. "God, I am so _useless_."

"Heh?" Naruto blinked, staring at the bowing head of the woman in front of him. "Nee-chan, why the hell would you say something like that about yourself?"

"Medic nins are supposed to help other people, Naruto. That's the basis of our nindo. But, I never..." Shizune's shoulders trembled, and Naruto's mouth slowly opened. "I never could help the people I _really_ care about!"

"S-Shizune-nee-chan." Naruto said her name, not really sure what else to say.

"My uncle died! Tsunade-sama may have spent her whole life running from her past or worse, joined Orochimaru if _you_ hadn't come along! And now, I-I-!" Naruto's guts suddenly plunged in the pit that had formed in his body. The way she had suddenly threw her hands to her face and the way she started shaking was _way too eloquent_. "Now I can't help _you_ either! Scratch healing emotional scars, I can't even do my job as a medic! I-I'm so-Hic!"

Naruto stared at the woman breaking down in front of him. He had never seen an adult woman cry, before. Shizune-nee-chan always seemed so strong, responsible, head-on-shoulders. To bear with Tsunade for all that time, she needed to be. She was crying in front of him, _because_ of him. Because she wanted to help him but couldn't. What could he do to make her feel better, now? What?

_'Hug her.'_

He threw his arms open wide and hugged Shizune. Not as tightly as he had hugged Tsunade that morning. "Ah." This hug was less enthusiastic, but more intimate. Warmer, gentler. "N-Naruto-kun?" He didn't reply. He just deepened the hug, trying to wrap as much as he could of his body around her own. He wasn't a big expert on physical demonstrations of affection, having lacked them in his youth. He went on instinct. The fact that Shizune was sitting on her desk and he was standing let him place one hand on the back of the woman's head, gently making her rest against his chest while placing his chin on top of it.

"N-Naruto... Kun." Shizune's body, at first stiff, began to relax. _'So warm.'_ She let her head rest against his chest, her own arms going to hug him around the waist. He sighed in relief, the sharp exhaling and then intake of air moving the muscles on which Shizune was resting her head. "Hmm." Which only seemed to have the effect of making her relax even more.

"Nee-chan, never, ever say that you're useless again, okay?" Naruto said, blushing as he had just inhaled Shizune's scent. It was some kind of flower. He couldn't place the name at the moment. "After baa-chan, you're the best medic I've ever met, but she's an old hag! Never put yourself down just because you're not as good as her! You'll get as good as her one day, I'm sure of it!"

Shizune chuckled at that. He was probably just boasting with that last sentence, but she could feel he was sincere on the first part.

"So, never put yourself down like that ever again, you hear me? Or... I don't know, but I'll do something _drastic_!" He said, earning another laugh out of Shizune. "I'll hurt myself bad and then want only you to cure me! It won't be just me talking strange from time to time!"

"... Naruto-kun." As she raised her head, he had to raise his chin to allow her to do so. Her face had two distinct lines of tears but because of the wetness, they sparkled in the artificial light of her office and her warm smile completed the vision. "Thank you."

_'Holy shit. Shizune-nee-chan is __**pretty**__.'_ He could honestly say he had never noticed. Not only because of his crush on Sakura, but also because he had never thought of looking at adult women in _that _light, figures someone who had always treated him like a little brother. But presented with that face, he couldn't not acknowledge that Shizune was yes, his awesome nee-chan, a kick-ass medic, Sakura's senpai, but also a pretty woman.

"... uto-kun!" His daydream was broke by Shizune's voice. The pretty face had turned into an embarrassed one, plenty of red to go with it. "Y-You can let me go, now."

"Heh? Ah!" Sadness gone, Shizune had realized just how _personal_ the hug was, and his gaze hadn't helped matters. He quickly let go, like she was on fire. "I-I'm sorry."

"Jeez, Naruto-kun." Shizune cleaned her face with a napkin. She kept a box on her desk for all occasions. "I'm a bit too old for you." He blushed up to his ears. He _had_ been caught staring!

"N-No! I wasn't-I mean-Huuuh..." He waved his hands in front of his face, before surrendering, his head dropping. "I... Should probably go. It's late, so... And, I'm okay, you said. It's not like I can die from talking bad, so..."

"Yes." Shizune nodded and chuckled as he walked to the exit, not bothering to raise his head. It was so easy to fluster him. Not as easy as doing the same to her, but still easy enough that even someone timid like Shizune could get through to him. _'A little revenge for having seen me cry.'_ "Goodnight, Naruto-kun."

"Night." He groaned. He doubted it would be.

-I-

Just as he thought. It was almost midnight and he still couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't only Shizune's fault, though. As he had had some rest and a good dinner, he had started actually thinking about his situation. He remembered the white. The door. He had found himself in Konoha. A Konoha that shouldn't exist anymore. It was destroyed, razed to the ground. He had seen it. He had cleared the rubble.

"So, how come I've walked by Ichiraku Ramen on the way here?" He sighed. Then there was the thing with his voice. What the hell? "... I should probably be grateful for being alive, I guess. Still, I don't like having questions." Then, the clock struck midnight. "Hmm..." His eyelids fell heavy, sleep finally claimed him.

_? ?_

_?_

_1xFennel_

_?_

_Take things more slowly._

_Hanabira zenbu o torigataru_

Sono ato atama wo tabetagaru...

"Hmm... Huh?" He slowly removed his covers, sitting up in his bed. "Hmm... It always seems too early, no matter how much I sleep." He stretched and walked to the bathroom, observing his apartment as he walked. _'So, I'm still here. Wasn't a dream. Which leaves me with the question of what the hell exactly happened to me.'_

Naruto searched his fridge and kitchen, finding unspoiled milk and a variety of food. He chuckled as he remembered Kakashi and his preoccupation with his dairy food. "Seriously, I forget checking the expiring date once and he thinks I eat green cheese daily." He went to put everything on the table only to notice something resting on it. A small wrapped package. "Huh?"

He put milk bottle and cup down and went to observe the object. The wrapping was simple brown paper and a string. No address, no writing except for a 'To Naruto'. "Is not my birthday, is it?" He really needed to get a calendar. "… Holy shit. For all I know, it could be!"

Last he checked, this Konoha had been destroyed. So, either it was all a Genjutsu, this was really paradise or... "Nah. I-It's impossible... Is it?" He didn't know exactly _why_ but his gut told him to not discard the idea so easily, like he should know better. '_Then again, it would explain at least the how.'_ "Aaaah! Why do I have to think this much?" He let out a whine. It just kept getting better and better, didn't it? He breathed in and out, deeply. "Ok, calm down. One problem at the time. The solvable ones first."

To answer his latest question, he would need a calendar. So, breakfast and package first. He brought the square object to his ear, shaking it. He could hear the faint noise of something moving. "Oh, well." He then untied- "Nnnn-! Damn it! Who makes knots this hard?" Well, cut off the string and then tore away the brown paper, revealing a white box. "Finally." He raised the lid. "Huh? That's new."

The rectangular object could be held in one hand. A screen surrounded by a smooth black surface with round angles, didn't reach half an inch in thickness. "What is this?" Turning it around in his hands his eyes laid on the naruto symbol on its back, as in, a symbol in the shape of the ramen condiment. "A symbol inspired by ramen topping." Naruto grinned. "Cool! But how do I turn it on?"

No instruction manual in the box, Naruto observed the object more closely. In the end he found four buttons. A big one on the front, and three small ones: two on the left side and one on the top. _'Which one should I push?'_

_'The one on the top.'_

"It's working!" Satisfied for getting it on the first try, the shinobi grinned as the screen lighted up, showing the fishcake symbol over a black background for a few seconds. Then the symbol sparkled and it was replaced by a more elaborated interface, in shades of orange and yellow. "Ooh! Nice colors! Whoever bought me this, really knows me! Huh, 'Slide here to release'? Hmm-Ah! It worked! It works on touch? Cool!"

-I-

"Damn, this thing is _awesome_!" As he ate and got dressed, Naruto got familiar with his newest possession. While he still hadn't understood its purposed use, he liked the way he just had to touch the screen to make things happen."I really have to thank whoever gave me this-Oh." The phone suddenly told him he had a new message. "A message? From who?" He touched the screen and the display presented to him...

**Results: **Stupid End. _You collected:_ 1x Fennel.

_Suggestions:_ Take things more slowly.

"... Stupid end? Take things more slowly? And what the hell is a 'Fennel'?" Try as he might, he couldn't make head or tails of what he had just read. "And who the hell has a name like 'results', anyway?" He squinted his eyes. No one came to mind. "Whatever. At least I know that this thing is for sending messages." He put down the 'messenger' and went to tie his forehead protector around his head. "Ok. Now, next problem! A calen-" The Messenger suddenly emitted a small chime-like sound and a buzz as it vibrated. "What now?" He picked it up again. "Today's Agenda?" The meaning of the word eluded him at that moment but he checked it out anyway. The screen turned into the copy of a green squared paper with notes and-"Ah! Now I remember! An agenda is like, something where you write your plans for the day and stuff! Nice! I can check the date with this!"

Indeed. He just raised his eyes to see... "14 March-!" That settled it. His gut had told him not to discard the notion so easily and now he had confirmation. "Forget the destruction of Konoha, ero-sennin should still be alive!" He put a hand on his forehead, the notion now evident but not fully able to process it, mostly because he had no idea how or why yet. In more common terms, Naruto had just been mind-fucked.

"Damn it. This is crazy." _'Well, not crazier than two weeks of walking in nothing.'_ He stared at the Messenger for a few seconds more before exhaling heavily. "It _is_ crazy but I'm... Kind of grateful." Just the thought of being able to see his teacher again made him smile. That thought out of the way, he focused on what it was actually written on that day's 'agenda'. "It's Sunday. And it says that for today, I have no active duty. I begin again tomorrow. Hmm, good-Wait a minute. How the hell is my agenda on this thing if I just turned it on for the first time?"

He was going from shock to relief to surprise to shock again too quickly for the discovery to have any significant effect on _him_, of all people. "Whatever. I'll file it under 'things I can't explain as of yet'." He turned off the messenger and put it in the inner pocket of his jacket. "Alright. So, I have a day off... I guess I could get some training done." _'I have to see if I can still use Sage Mode.'_ He put a hand to his chin. "Or I could take a walk around Konoha, see if there's anything different from how I remember it." _'What should I do?'_

**Go to the Training Grounds**

**Go to the Hokage Tower**

**Go to the Shopping District**

**Go to the Hospital**

****_To be continued... How? **You** decide._


	2. Go to the Training Grounds

There we are! Here's the next part! Go to the Training Grounds won with more than half the votes! Let's see what that brought upon us.

Also, I remind you again. _**You can cast your vote only with the poll on my Blog, Storie in Rosso. You can't vote by Review or private message. **_You can find the _link_ on my _profile_, just **_click on my name up here_** and you'll find the link. Or just **Google** the blog's name.

That out of the way, enjoy!

_'Go to Training Grounds'_

"Hmm... I suppose I should check if I lost any strength or techniques first." _'To training it is, then!'_ Punching his right palm with his left fist, Naruto headed for the door.

-I-

"Well, this place is unchanged." Naruto observed the water as it flowed under the bridge. He had decided to take a small detour. The usual meeting place of his original team. He sighed, wishing for a moment that it was a few years back. It would have given a sense to everything. _'Nostalgia. It's so NOT me.'_

"Nostalgia doesn't fit you, Naruto." He turned around to face his mind-reader, finding a teasing smile under blue eyes and long blonde hair.

"What? Can't I reminisce too, Ino?" He said with a frown as he crossed his arms. The girl in violet just chuckled.

"Not with that long face. Although, it almost makes you look thoughtful. I take that back: mope all you want!" He groaned as the girl closed the distance till she sat on the opposite side of the bridge from him.

_'Yamanaka Ino. A friend from the academy, rival of one of my team-mates in both ninja-hood and love. She always acts bossy and teases me because of my less than stellar academic past. Although she may act vapid from time to time, she is very intelligent and competitive.'_ Naruto thought and then blinked. _'And why exactly am I reading her resume in my head?'_

"Naruto, staring into space isn't helping your cause." He was broke out of his reverie by her mocking voice, which caused him to frown again.

_'Thinks she's so smart, huh?'_ "Well, if you're _oh __so__ smarter_ than me, let's see if you can answer me this question! What's a _fennel_?" He barked out the unknown word from that morning's message, which caused Ino to blink and stare at him like he had just grown a second head. He smirked. _'Hmph. Not so smart are you, n-'_

"Oh my god, you're serious! BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!" She suddenly broke into a fit of unlady-like laughter. It was Naruto's turn to stare as she held her stomach. "I can't believe this! You were challenging _me_ about knowing the name of a _plant_? Ahahahah!"

"... It's a flower?" He blurted out. He bit his tongue immediately after.

"... Oh my god, you didn't even _know_! AHAHAHAH! THIS IS TOO MUCH!" She was now leaning on the bridge for support while Naruto blushed up to his ears.

"S-Shut up! Unlike you, I don't work in a flower shop!" _'The most I do is take care of my plants, but I'm not a cono-conoie-Whatever! A plant-otaku!'_ He retorted, while Ino breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down.

"Alright, alright. I'm done. Oh, my sides hurt." Straightened her clothes and hair, Ino cleared her throat. "Well, do not worry. Ino-sama will impart that thick head of yours with some knowledge about flowers." Naruto pouted while she posed, hand on her chest and another on her hips. She then raised the hand from her chest and stretched the index finger to the sky. A true teacher. "A _fennel_, my dear Naruto, is a plant with yellow flowers and feathery leaves of the family Apiaceae. It's highly aromatic, it has uses in medicine and cooking and it's one of the main ingredients of absinthe. In the language of flowers, it means 'worthy of all praise' or 'strength'."

"... Thanks, I guess." He let out grudgingly, since the matter _had_ been bugging him. She chuckled at the praise he forced out of his mouth.

"No problem, knucklehead. If you ever have any questions about plants, you know where to find me." She said with a satisfied smile. "Now, I should go. Shikamaru and Choji are waiting for me. Team training, you know."

"Really? Say hi to them from me." With a nod and a wave, she started walking away in the direction he had come from. He sighed, recovering from the embarrassing two minutes he had just gone through. "Well, at least now I know what a fennel is-Ah!" He got startled when something started to vibrate on his chest. "What the-Ah, right! The Messenger!" He opened his jacket and dove inside for the object. "Another message?" Not this time. The display said... "'You got a new app'? What the hell is an app?"

He opened said 'new app', which brought him face to face with... "... _**Ino's guide to Flower Language**_?" _'What the hell?'_

-I-

"Huff... Huff..." Catching his breath, Naruto observed his handiwork, which consisted of the side effects of him and his clones punching holes in whatever was at disposal, be it rocks, trees or each other. The latter was quite difficult since he had discovered of still being able to use Sage Mode and gather nature chakra, which tended to make his body quite sturdy. His copies disappeared, his stamina now depleted. "Seems like... My chakra and stamina didn't drop... Aaah!"

He had been going at it for more than four hours, without pause. Because that was his style. But it also wasn't a good idea. Tired, he let gravity do his job and drag his back to meet the ground. "I'll just... Rest my eyes a bit."

-I-

… … … _'Soft. Has the ground always been so soft? Has the grass always smelled this good?'_ … … … _'No, wait. There's no way the ground is so comfy, and warm. Also, this isn't grass, it's some kind of flower. But there are no flowers on this training ground.'_

"... Uto-kun! Naruto-kun!"

_'Someone's calling me? I know that voice.'_

"Naruto-kun!"

_'She sounds worried. Ahh, I'd better open my eyes.'_ His eyelids slowly opened up, light returning to his vision once again, colors and shapes filling his field of-

Big.

That was the first adjective that came to his mind. Not as big as, say, Tsunade but still pretty damn big. He was Jiraiya's apprentice and it showed. It took him just a fraction of second to understand exactly _what_ he was staring at. _'Holy-!'_

"Naruto-kun, are you awake?" Also to Jiraiya's merit, it took some effort to shift his gaze a bit above and lay it on the face to which they belonged, framed by long dark blue hair. He almost lost the hard earned focus when she sighed in relief, which did some _interesting things_ to the first objects of his attention. "Thank goodness."

"H-Hinata." Naruto went red in the face from his resting spot on Hinata's tights but the girl seemed to ignore it, rewarding his waking state with a smile. "What-What are you doing here?"

"I was going back home from team training and I saw you passed out and I got worried." She answered, a tiny bit of worry still showing in her eyes. "I'm glad that you're okay."

_'Hyuuga Hinata. A really shy and once meek girl who eventually broke out of her shell and stood up for herself. First daughter of the head of the Hyuga clan, possessors of the Byakugan. Despite her gentle nature, she's a strong kunoichi. She confessed to me.'_ He blinked as he realized he had done it again. _'Seriously, what-!'_ "SON OF A _BITCH_!"

"WAH!" Sudden, too sudden for her, Naruto rolled on the ground away from her and then stood up in a crouch, his face redder than her own one, judging by the heat on her cheeks. "N-N-Naruto-kun! What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You-Don't you remember that you _mowhaued_ lo be?" Naruto's latest blabbering erased any trace of tension from the scene. _'GOD DAMN IT! AGAIN?'_

"N-Naruto-kun, are you sure you're well?" Hinata asked, concerned. The blonde stared at her incredulous.

_'Is she playing dumb or what? Doesn't she remember that when Pein-Wait.'_ When Pein had attacked, Hinata had confessed. There was the little matter, though, that Pein still had to arrive. _'So, no Pein, no fight, no confession. She doesn't know that I know.'_ He sighed in relief but then noticed that it wasn't a shared emotion. "Ah! I'm sorry, Hinata! It's just that, hum... I was afraid I had lost something, but... Huu..." He picked out the Messenger from his pocket. "Here it is! I found it! All is well!"

"A-Ah. Okay." Hinata didn't seem _that_ convinced, but that Naruto was acting norm-Well, Narutoish, was enough to make her at ease. He patted himself on the back for a job well done and stood up, closing the gap between him and the busty kunoichi once again. She stood up as he approached. "I'm glad you're alright, Naruto-kun..."

"Heh, you know me. Nothing's gonna bring me down! I was just exhausted from training!" He declared with a grin. "Thanks for waking me up, otherwise I would have missed lunch! Sorry you had to waste your time!"

"It was no problem." She replied, head lowered and a healthy blush on her cheeks. She had come a long way from the meek girl she once was, but she still couldn't help but act like this around Naruto.

_'Damn. I really have no experience with girls. It becomes so obvious once you know it.'_ All the little things, the way she acted around him and the return of the stutter... _'Maybe I should have let ero-sennin also teach me ab-No! Don't go there!'_ He focused on what was important. The girl standing in front of him. "Well, let me make it up to you. Let me buy you lunch!"

Hinata raised her head at that, blush still in place. "L-Lunch?" The blush intensified. "With Naruto-kun?"

"Yep. So that I can th-Oh, wait." Hinata went from embarrassed to confused. "Your family's waiting for you. You were going there when you stopped to check on me."

"_**N-No!**_ It's no problem-"

"Too bad. I really wanted to thank you." Not even Hinata's unusual loudness managed to get through Naruto's suddenly selective hearing. She hung her head low, dejected. "Well, just let me know when you're free then!"

"Heh?" Naruto gave her his patented full toothage grin, along with a thumbs up.

"You got a free _'Meal on Naruto'_ card! Just come see me whenever you're free, okay, Hinata?" Saying that, Naruto placed the Messenger back in the inner pocket of his jacket and zipped it up.

"B-But I'm free _right n_-"

"See ya!" With that, Naruto disappeared in an after image, leaving behind a gaping Hinata who then turned into pouting Hinata.

"Naruto-kun, you dummy..."

-I-

"Phew. What a day." Naruto rubbed away the last leftover droplets of water from his hair with a towel while he walked to his apartment's door, locking it for the night. "Better go to sleep, so I can get an early start tomorrow." A buzz and chime from his right pocket. "What now?"

_You collected:_

_1xCockle_

"Is ero-senning sending me these things or _what?_!" The name was just too subgestive to-_'Wait a minute. Maybe...'_ He opened the App he had received that day.

_**Cockle**, otherwise known as **darnel**, is an annual plant of the Poaceae family and part of the Lolium genus. It usually grows in zones full of wheat and the similarity between the two plants is so great that cockle is also called **false wheat**. In flower language, it stands for **Gentility**._

"So, someone is sending me messages telling me that I've collected plants and flowers but I _haven't_." Naruto sighed and closed the App. "Whatever. Time to sleep. Got active duty, tomorrow!"

**Day Two**

"Alright. Time for some action!" Naruto felt pumped as he stood in front of the doors to Tsunade's office. He still had buttloads of questions about his sudden situation, but his character would only take so much moping, lamenting and borderline insanity from him. Uzumaki Naruto _faced_ his problems. He didn't know the how and why? Big deal. He was still going to make the most out of everything. And right now, that meant a _second chance_. _'I'm going to get so strong that Tobi won't know what hit him. Well, I'm going to need Kurama's help for that.'_ But he wasn't going to find his partner standing around. He punched his left palm and then threw open the doors. "Fear not! Uzumaki Naruto has arrived!"

"Yay. The Genin has arrived. The red carpet, now!" His smile turned into a frown while Tsunade laughed at his expenses. "Simmer down, brat. I wanted to talk to you about that, to tell the truth."

"Really, now. And-Huh." Naruto then noticed that no one from his team was currently in the room. "That's strange. Yamato-taichou is usually here before anyone else."

"Well, that's because you're going to fly solo for a while." That made Naruto confused. "You see, brat, starting today, you're under evaluation for a field promotion." More staring. "It means that you could make Chunin without the need for the exam."

"Eh? Really?" Now, if _that_ wasn't a second chance...

"Yep. After all, the higher you climb, the easier it will be for you to become Hokage. Right, brat?" Tsunade threw him a small bone. He guessed he was expecting him to complain. "But since that means evaluating your individual ability, you won't be able to count on your original team. Sometimes teams just get put together, as you've recently experienced."

"Heh, yeah. Me and Sai didn't exactly hit it off." Naruto admitted, grinning sheepishly.

"That's what I'm talking about. Also, as a Chunin, that also means you can't choose your own missions. So, no complaining on that either." Tsunade added, crossing her arms over her chest. "So, what says you? Are you okay with all this?"

1. **Y-**

"You bet I do! Promotion, here I come!"

_'Nevermind.'_

"Huh. Just like that?" Tsunade asked, surprised by the speed of his agreement. "I would have expected at least some complaints about going after... Well, you know."

"Let's just say I have a good feeling. So, missions!" Tsunade stared some more and then decided to label the behavior under _'This is Naruto'_.

"Well, first I said that you wouldn't be able to choose your missions. That wasn't exactly true... For now. Don't get used to it, brat." Tsunade then picked up two scrolls from her desk's drawer, the one in her right hand green, the one in her left hand blue. "First, would you like a mission that doesn't require you to leave Konoha and its surroundings or are you up to some traveling?"

"Hmm..." Naruto put a hand to his chin, deep in thought, pondering both options.

**Stay in Konoha**

**Travel**

_**Choose how it continues on Storie in Rosso! Find the link on my profile!**_


	3. Travel

There we are! Small part but by choosing Travel, you walked right back into another choice! Hope you like this one. Also, I remind you again, this isn't the **actual story**. It's just an **archive** for the story as it unfolds on my site. If you want to influence its proceeding go to my site.

Meinos Kaen out!

___'Travel'_

"I guess I've taken a liking to traveling around thanks to ero-sennin. I don't mind road trips, baa-chan." Naruto replied with a grin.

"I understand. The blue scroll it is, then." Tsunade put the green scroll back into the drawer, closing it right after. He then threw the blue one to Naruto, who deftly caught it with one hand. "There are a certain number of missions you can choose from."

"Let's see." Naruto unfolded the scroll...

**C-Rank Mission – Escort for a Leader (Team Mission)**_The leader of the Demon Country has asked for an escort for the period during which there will be its official installation. There have been no threats nor incidents, the measure seems purely precautionary._

**C-Rank Mission – Medical Supplies (Team Mission)**_A village on the border of the Fire Country is to receive a number of medical supplies. There have been rumors of a group of bandits in the zone immediately surrounding the village, and thus the merchant asked for a protection detail._

**C-Rank Mission – Ghost Hunt (Solo Mission)**_A citizen Wave Country has asked for ninjas to come and investigate the matter of a ghost hunting the city he lives in. Seems farfetched but there could be something else behind the rumor._

**B-Rank Mission – Rescue Mission (Team Mission)**_The refugee camp on the borders of Bear Country has been attacked. The civil war that erupted in the country after the incident concerning their ninja village has involved civilians as well. The Leaf and Sand villages are prepping a joined operation to evacuate it._

_'The fourth and second one promise trouble. The first one seems tranquil enough. I don't really know what to think about the third one.'_ "...I choose-"

**1.**Escort for a Leader  
**2. **Medical Supplies  
**3.** Ghost Hunt  
**4.** Rescue Mission 


	4. Ghost Hunt

There we go! The crowd has talked! So... Who you gonna call?

Meinos Kaen out!

_'Ghost Hunt'_

"... A ghost." Naruto reread the mission's description to be sure he had gotten it right. No spelling nor reading mistakes. He raised an eyebrow and stared at Tsunade. "Seriously?"

"We've seen the dead coming back to life. Is a ghost really _that _farfetched?" Tsunade shrugged her shoulders, and somewhere Jiraiya lamented missing some premium eye-candy. "I know as much as you."

"Hmm... Well, at least it sounds interesting." Naruto grinned as he thought of just where the Mission would send him. "It will be nice to see the Wave Country again."

"I bet. By the way, this is marked as a _solo_ mission, but you understand that I will have a team on stand-by in the _immediate _vicinity." He was about to retort that he didn't need it when he realized that, right now, he_ should_ need one.

"Damn. Why do people bother with keeping secrets when it's so much trouble is beyond me." He murmured but Tsunade seemed to catch some of it. He waved his free hand in a dismissive fashion. "Nothing, just speaking to myself. So, what's the name of the client?"

-I-

"I should have known." Naruto sighed as he approached his destination, thinking about how the client for this mission was a returning one, alas, he had already made a mission request of Konoha in the past. "I think old man Tazuna must have downed a few bottles too many, this time around." He turned his eyes upward. "Any insight from you guys or are you just going to keep silent?" There was no reply from the canopy. "Of course you will."

With one more jump, Naruto had broken through the forest and landed right in the middle of a well kept road, which brought to a very familiar construction. He had been there in the days of its building, after all. "Well, doesn't this bring back memories." The shinobi said as he walked to the construction that now connected the countries of Wave and Fire, the bridge which represented the starting point for the insular country's rebirth. Once broken and oppressed it had found its pride again. _'Oh. They named it?'_ Naruto commented as he saw an inscription on a plaque on the arc surmounting the bridge. _'I bet they named it after Kaiza. The guy sure des-' _"Wait a minute." No, it wasn't named after Kaiza. He gaped at the letters engraved in the metal. "The great Naruto _what_?"

Naruto's jaw went slack as he noticed that his guess had been wild. Sure that they had named the bridge after Inari's father, he was gobersmacked to find that they had instead named the bridge after _him_. "Sonuva-And I _never_ heard of this?" Blushing, embarrassed, Naruto could just stare at the plaque. He then covered his face with both hands, to hide the blooming grin threatening to split his face. "Hehehe... I got a bridge named after me."

-I-

_'Things sure have changed.'_ Naruto was sure this was the same village only because he remembered that it was on the other side of the bridge. Everything seemed new, solid, built to resist, and there were a lot more people in the streets and most of all, they all seemed well fed and happy. Which left him with the predicament of finding out where Tazuna currently lived. "Uhm, excuse me."

"Yes?" The young girl he had just walked by turned around and regarded him with a surprised expression, eyes fixed on his forehead protector.

"Do you know where Tazuna the bridge builder lives?" He asked with a grin, and the girl nodded after a few more seconds of staring.

"Yes. I-It's the big house on the outskirts of the village." She pointed a slender finger to her right. "In that direction. You can't miss it. It's got a really big garden."

"Thanks a lot." Naruto started walking in the direction he had been given when-

"Shinobi-san!" He stopped when the girl's suddenly enthusiastic voice reached him. "By any chance... Do you know Uzumaki Naruto?"

He could only stare. Then he realized he had been staring with his mouth open. "Ehm, yes. You could say I know him."

"How is he in person?" The girl continued, a strange light in her eyes that made him take a step back. He had seen it before, but he couldn't put his finger on where and when.

"He's... Cool." Naruto murmured, clearing his throat. "Ehm, he's... One of the strongest ninja ever and... He likes ramen a lot?" He tried, tentatively. The girl, her age around thirteen years old, gasped and took something out of her bag. _'Is she taking __**notes**__?'_

"Thanks, shinobi-san! Have a good day!" With a deep bow, the girl was away, murmuring something to herself and giggling every now and then.

"... I have a bad feeling about this." He whispered to no one in particular, the feeling of familiarity becoming almost overwhelming and yet the details _why_ it was so familiar and why pure _dread_ had joined it eluded him. _'Better just get to Tazuna's house.'_

-I-

"Damn. When she said it was _big_, she wasn't joking." Naruto commented as he crossed the large Japanese-styled garden and stopped in front of the big, oak front door. He was about to knock when he noticed a short rope tied to a chime to the door's right. He tugged it energetically, a clear sound originating from the object. He heard a voice saying _'Coming'_ from the inside. After a few seconds, it resounded again, much closer.

"Who is it?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. Did anyone call for a Ghost problem?" He didn't miss the loud gasp from the clearly female voice. The door opened in a few seconds. "Hey, Tsunami-nee-san! You look good!"

"Naruto!" The few years didn't seem to have done much to Tsunami's looks, although she seemed to have taken to tie up her long hair in a ponytail. Also, her clothes were of much better quality than the ones she had been wearing when he had first met her. He returned the hug she gave him, noticing how he was now taller than her. "Look at you! You're so grown up!"

"Yeah, it's been a while." She pulled him inside by an arm and closed the door behind them. Naruto whistled at the traditional but beautiful home. "You moved, huh? I had to ask to find your house."

"Yes. Dad built this house first thing after finishing the bridge... Among most of the new buildings in the city." Tsunami took the backpack from Naruto as he removed his sandals. "After Gatou's death, Wave's economy had a sudden rise and there was need for a good carpenter."

"Great to know! So he's at work?" The woman sighed.

"I wish. No, father quit actual carpenter work last year. That's for his subordinates to do." That made Naruto blink. Tazuna with _subordinates_. "He mainly just takes care of the contracts and... Gets drunk."

"Heh. Maybe that's why he started rambling about ghosts?" Naruto snickered as he also removed his forehead protector, letting long blonde hair swish around. "You should have seen my face when I read the mission request."

Tsunami sighed, holding her face with one hand in a dramatic gesture. "He just came back one night and started raving about that. Scared Inari a lot too." Naruto's face brightened at hearing the kid's name. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but Inari is away. He's working for father now, and his team is doing some construction work on another island."

"Shoot. Too bad." Naruto pouted as he walked to the living room. "Well, I guess I'll have to make do with your company, Tsunami-nee-san. I doubt the old man is going to be much-" A loud _'thump' _echoed from the direction of the door. "What was that?"

"Father coming home." Tsunami rolled her eyes as she walked to the entrance. "If he's drunk, that's the sound his face makes when impacting the front door."

"Oh."

-I-

"Hahaha! That pipsqueak became _**this **_tall? You gotta be kidding me!"

"Happy to see you too, old man." He had forgotten how irritating the bridge builder could be. Especially plastered.

"Confess. You're using that whutsitsname technique... Hentai?"

"_**Henge**_, you drunkard!" Naruto let out, snagging the bottle of sake out of the carpenter's right hand. "Will you try and lay off the booze one minute and tell me about this _Ghost _stuff? That's why I came here in the first place, remember?"

"Ah, right! The ghost!" Tazuna raised his gaze to the ceiling, calming down as he had suddenly remembered something important, which needed him to be serious. As seriously anyone can take a man with red cheeks and alcoholic breath. "Let me tell you, kid... This is the stuff of _nightmares_."

"That scary?" Naruto crossed his arms, still sceptic. Tsunami rolled her eyes as she collected the alcohol, knowing what was coming now. "What is it? Some kind of beheaded ninja losing entrails?"

"Nope. It's a really pretty ghost, actually. Good _private time_ material."

"THEN WHAT THE HELL _**IS **_YOUR PROBLEM?" Naruto exploded, throwing his hands to the sides of his head. "Ghk, whatever. You probably just saw some pale girl while inebriated and mistook her for a ghost."

"... No. It definitely was a ghost." Naruto raised an eyebrow at Tazuna's sudden serious tone.

"How are you so sure about that?"

"Because I recognised the person. And that person is supposed to be _**dead**_." His cheeks were still flushed by the alcohol, but the intensity of Tazuna's gaze made Naruto realize that right now he was completely lucid. "It appears every week at the same place, at the same time. Like clockwork."

"... What place?"

-I-

_'How did he convince me, again?'_ Naruto thought as he laid in wait among the foliage nearby the intended spot. Tazuna had been pretty precise about the time and place: the first was 11 PM, the latter was... _'I guess it's because I wanted to see this place again.' _Naruto thought as he gazed in the direction of two tomb-markers: a wooden cross and a sword, a very _big_ sword. He had never gone back to the Wave country and as such he had never visited the burial site of the two missing nins. Not that he ever visited the Third's one either. He just wasn't the kind of person that found comfort in visiting tombs. But, if he had known the Third all his life, he had only known Zabuza and Haku for a couple weeks. If it wasn't for comfort it probably was for a desire to know more about the two, especially Haku. If Zabuza's past was famous, Haku had never existed for the world until he became the swordsman's apprentice. As a missing nin.

Naruto sighed and returned his gaze to the sky. _'A waste of time turns into melancholic remembrance. Great. I'm so going to make the geezer pay for-'_ A rustle of leaves alerted him to a presence. He silently raised his head and lowered himself on top of his branch. _'What? Someone's come here?'_ He followed the sound of rustling leaves till it stopped. There were no audible footsteps but judging from the direction the source had left the canopy and was now heading for the center of the meadow, where the markers stood. That made Naruto alarmed. One of the reasons they had chosen the place was because only Team 7 and Tazuna's family knew about its existence. For everyone else, it was a spot in the woods too far from the village and with nothing of interest.

_'How did anyone-'_ Then Naruto remembered a particular about the ghost. Tazuna had _recognized_ it and was certain that the person was **dead** but the bridge builder hadn't disclosed any details. "... No. It can't..." He had the sudden urge to make a run for the meadow, rid himself of that doubt. But if it _wasn't _a ghost, he could scare whoever it was...

**1. Hurry to the meadow**

**2. Approach silently**


	5. Approach Silently

So, it's stealth you want. Stealth you shall have. You should be getting some clues to what's really going on here as well. CoU's next part, it's here!

_'Approach Silently'_

_'Calm down, you idiot! No reason to act like a bull!'_ Naruto breathed in and out deeply, recalling all his stealth lessons. He silently dropped down from the tree and approached the clearing. He placed a hand on the bush he crouched in front of, halting as he bit his lower lip. He summoned enough courage to continue, moving the leaves out of the way. "... Damn it."

Long black hair draped loose over the back of a sakura pink kimono which hugged a tall, elegant frame, shielding the wooden cross from his eyes. "... The face." He pushed back and quickly but silently moved in a clock-wise manner around the clearing. He found another observation point which let him see the figure from his new POW. "... Dear god." His breath stopped. He would recognize those features everywhere, but his gaze got inevitably caught by the eyes. Framed by long eyelashes, lids half closed, gaze focused on the tomb marker from the now crouched position. A feminine hand brought back a lock of hair and a tear escaped the left eye. Naruto's stomach lurched at the familiar sight. He had already seen that face cry once, in his life. "... Haku." More tears, from both eyes. This time though there was no trace of the sad smile from the time he had been revealed of a sad boy's past, delicate lips dropping their corners.

He cringed. He avoided his sight and lowered his head. He couldn't watch any more and he had only seen so little. Haku was back. As a _ghost_. He didn't know much about that kind of stuff, but ghosts usually stayed behind when they were restless. In this case, sad. _'Probably because he thought he had saved Zabuza when-Huh.' _"Wait a minute." He returned his gaze to the scene in the middle of the clearing, checking if he had seen right. He had. _'Why is he crying over his own grave?'_

Indeed. Naruto had been certain that Haku would have been lamenting over Zabuza's grave, his sacrifice for the sake of his precious person having been in vain, but instead, he was facing his own burial spot. _'Weird. But-Huh.'_ He noticed something else as Haku stood up again, something related to the very act of _standing_: he had legs. Naruto put a hand to his chin. There was something _off_ about the whole thing. _'Ghost don't have legs, right?'_ Or so he seemed to remember. He took in the whole figure, as a whole. He noticed two more details: one, Haku had just left a flower on his grave; two, Haku stood taller and prettier than when he had died. Of one thing he was certain: _ghosts didn't grow up_. Naruto's mind added everything up and logically concluded... "Holy shit! Haku is _alive_!"

Well, maybe not so logically. "Haku!" Any conception of stealth now forgotten, Naruto dove through the bush and started running at the figure who, in reaction to the cry, turned around and stared in surprise, tears stopping abruptly.

"W-_Ah_!"

"I can't believe this! I'm so _happy_!" Tuning out the cry of surprise, Naruto trapped his newly found friend in a bear hug. Not noticing the blush, he pulled back and began squaring him up and down. "Boy, have you grown! You're still taller than me! Hey, how the hell did you hide all this time?"

"H-Hide? I don't know what-"

"Ah, I get it! You've been dressing like a girl all this time, right? You were good at that!" Naruto laughed while his recipient gasped in outrage.

"_Dressing like_ a girl? What are you**-!**"

"Man, you've gotten better." Poke. Poke-Poke. "These feel _real_." He grinned. A gaping, crimson face gaped at him. He grinned wider.

-I-

"S-S-S-So **cold**!" His teeth flattered. "_AT-__**CHOOM!**_" He sneezed out a few more ice crystals. "H-Haku, you meanie..."

"So, there was no ghost. Tsk." Tazuna commented, drinking coffee for a change while Tsunami covered Naruto with another blanket.

"I don't think ghosts freeze people in place in reaction to..." The woman blushed, recalling what Naruto had told them. After the 'act', next thing he knew he was staring at the rising sun encased in a block of ice, Anbu laughing at him or glaring at him, it varied. Also, he had gotten a new message. Something about a Hazel.

"W-Why did he do that?" Naruto muttered, sneezing loudly once again. "I thought he would be happy to see m-me again..."

"... Naruto." As a mother, Tsunami knew that sometimes external intervention was needed to guide young men on the right path. The boy removed a small stalagmite from his hair and turned to her. "You said that this 'Haku' was grown up, right?" Naruto nodded. "Also, you're sure that the Haku you knew was a young boy, right?" Naruto nodded again. "So, adding that he's supposed to be dead, that this _Haku_ reacted like a _girl _would after being touched in _private_ parts and that he didn't recognize you, what does all that add up to?"

"... C_rap. _Haku was a girl the whole time and he _lost his memory_! I mean, **she**!" Tsunami slapped her forehead. Loudly. Naruto threw off the blankets. "Damn it! I have to go look for him-_her_! Also apologize!"

"For the love of-! Naruto, you've _**buried-**_"

"Yeah, you go do that." Tazuna cut off his daughter, much to her shock.

"Of course! I'll be back later!" With ninja speed, Naruto sprinted out of the house. Tsunami glared at her father.

"Dad, what the hell was _that_?"

"That'll teach him to ruin my fun. So soon, I mean." Tsunami raised an eyebrow and then her eyes widened in understanding. "Yep. I'm not _that_ bad of a drunk."

"But-But if you already knew, why-"

"For fun. Also, I wanted to see the brat again. We all did. I feel sorry for Iraqi, for missing him." Tsunami silently acquiesced to that. It wasn't a lie. "Also, this will be even _more _fun." The woman stared inquiringly while Tazuna just grinned. "What do you think will happen if _Uzumaki Naruto_ starts looking around for a _girl_ in _**this **_town?"

"... Oh, God."

-I-

"No, I don't think I've seen any girl like that, I'm sorry." The meek redhead he had stopped in the middle of the road bowed. Naruto just grinned.

"Ah, it's okay. If you see anyone like that around, just tell her Uzumaki Naruto has been looking for her." He didn't notice her head shooting back up and her stunned look because he was observing his surroundings, just to be safe.

"U-Uzu-**That** Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yep, I'm the one from the bridge. I'm staying-Huh." When he turned back, he was staring at air. He blinked, looking around. "Where did she go?"

-I-

"... I think I've already seen this happen to Kakashi-Senpai."

"Should we warn him?"

"Nah." The leader of the team of ANBU shook his head as they observed the brewing **catastrophe **from roof-level. "Serves him right for this morning."

-I-

"No, it's not that I only like girls like that-"

"You don't? Thank god..."

"Then, what kind of girls do you like the most?"

"I-I don't-I mean, _why _do you ask?" This was getting weirder and weirder. He had tried asking five more girls after the one with red hair, and each time he had to answer more questions than he asked. This time two blonde girls with a short trim-twins, if he had to take a guess-who had been working in the shop he had entered to ask for information about Haku had pinned him against the wall with their overbearing presence.

"Please, Naruto-san! Tell us!"

"What about blonde hair? Don't you-"

"WILL YOU TWO GET BACK TO **WORK**?" An older female voice barked from behind the counter. As the two girls whined in a synchronized 'But moooom!', he took the chance to get away. He breathed in and out deeply as he found himself in the road.

"Safe... Wait." The sensation of familiarity was back again. "Safe from what?" As he strolled down the street, Naruto tried to make sense of his current situation, to identify the cause of this feeling of dread that had grown with each question, from both parts. Also, now he was feeling _observed_. "Where... When did I see..."

He just couldn't put his finger on it. He remembered that he had something to do with his escaped team-mate. _'But the only times __**he**__ had to put up with girls in a group of more than two was when-' _He froze. One leg raised from the ground, the other supporting his full weight. In mid-stride. The chill that ran up his spine made that morning's incident look like a quick bath in _**lava**_. "... _Fangirls_." He whispered the word as it was the secret name of a long forgotten deiy. A deity of _madness_. "I have _**fangirls**_." He resumed walking, slowly, the _eyes _never getting off his back. Then, he stopped at an intersection. "... **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH**!"

With ninja speed, he jettisoned to the right.

-I-

"Told ya." The ANBU leader said as the team as a whole snickered. "Better than a movie."

-I-

_'They're following. They're __**chasing **__me. I don't know how, but they're __**keeping up**__!'_ He was putting his everything in trying to lose his _shadows_, his _persecutors_-keep in mind that the only experiences Naruto had with fangirls were negative ones with _**his**_ ones whenever he stepped on his toes-but to no avail. Now he understood what his teachers meant when they said that ninjas should be especially wary of _civilians _on missions, even if they didn't mean it in this fashion. Or maybe they did. _'I don't know. All I know is running around isn't helping! I need a plan!'_

He considered his options. _'Should I try to lose them deeper into the city or just leave town?'_

**1. Try and lose them in the city**

**2. Leave town**

_**Choose how it continues on Storie in Rosso**_


	6. Try to lose them

Next part! Also, a warning! In the choice at the end of this part, hides a **BAD ENDING**. Will you be able to avoid it?

_'Try and lose them in town'_

_'I'm gonna try and lose them in the crowd!'_ Thinking that, he made a sharp turn and dove for the innermost part of town. If Wave's economy had made that big of a jump, its market-place was surely be bustling with activity and a lot of people among which to hide and disguise himself. "... The _hell_?" Unless, of course, it was the market's closing day. Which left him with a wide, empty plaza. "ARGH!" _'They're closing in!'_

If they were anything like _**his**_ ones, they would progressively grow bolder and bolder till the boiling point was reached. And then... "... The _glomp_." He whispered, not really thinking that getting glomped by buxom girls of his own age could be more enjoyable compared to being 'attacked' by developing twelve years old. _'Where to, now?'_

He picked a direction at random and dove for the corresponding street. He didn't stop nor look around. That was why, when he took a turn- "Ooff!"

"Aah!" He barreled right into someone, knocking both of them to the ground.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't-Tsunami-nee-san?"

"Pay more attention, will-Naruto?" The woman got back on her feet before the blonde, who took his time to look around. "I've been looking all over for you! I have-Oh." She noticed his panicked state. "Too late, then?"

"And I can't lose them because there's _no market_, today!" He said, shivering. The road was empty except for the two of them but he could feel a number of presences. He whined miserably. "Nee-san, help me!"

"Well, there's... Huh." An idea crept through her mind. She fought back the flush threatening to come up and say hi on her face. _'What the hell am I thinking? There's no way...'_ She thought about it further. Yeah, he wouldn't go with it. _'... Then, I'll surprise him.'_ Looking at it as something playful made her more confident. She smiled. "Naruto, are they looking?"

"Y-Yes, _of course_ they are! That's the whole-" Slender hands grabbed the sides of his face. "Problem?" The half-lidded eyes he was staring at were very nice.

She hadn't done this in a long time, but she hadn't lost her touch. Maybe he was pretty inexperienced, but that could only explain the lack of response as she locked lips. The way his whole body went stiff, his eyes wide and he stood on his tip-toes as she fisted his hair and started using tongue, deepening the kiss, could not be explained by that. Nor could it explain the way he went limp against her as she finished it, a trail of saliva briefly connecting her tongue to his lower lip. As she hugged him to herself to keep him from falling to the ground, she grinned. _'Yup. Still got it.'_

She waited a few seconds, gently caressing the back of Naruto's head before whispering in his right ear. "Naruto?"

"Hmmmeah?" He was still in trance. She chuckled.

"Are they gone, now?" The mention of his stalkers made him sober up. He blinked, straightened himself and observed his surroundings.

"... Yeah." He let out, surprised. "Why did-" He flushed. "I mean, you... Uhm... That..."

"Either they think you're already taken or that you prefer older women. Maybe both." She latched on his right arm and started pulling him along. For some reason, she was in a very good mood. "Let's go back."

"... Ok." The shinobi let himself be led, still a bit shellshocked by the brief but pretty heated make-out session. Well, more like kiss he got from Tsunami since he hadn't been cooperative and makeout implies collaboration and-_'I'll just stop thinking, now.'_

-I-

"Hmm, sure, ruin my fun."

"There was _NOTHING_ fun about what transpired this morning, you damn drunkard!" Naruto shouted at point blank range at the old bridge builder, who seemed unfazed by his loudness and anger. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"Meh. Serves you right for really believing something as ludicrous as that brat being really alive when you personally buried his body." That made Naruto pause, and wince. This didn't escape Tazuna's eyes, nor Tsunami's, sitting at the table as well. "... Or did you want to believe it true?"

"... Maybe so. I guess when you put it like that, it really _does_ sound stupid." _'Probably some guilt and sadness at his death that never went away.'_ Sitting in another chair, Naruto slumped in it, looking at the ceiling. "Man, so weird... That only leaves as an explanation someone who looks identical to Haku and that, for some reason, also leaves flowers on his tomb. Also, how did she get to know where he's buried?"

"_She_, Naruto?" Tsunami said with a chuckle, remembering the error of judgment regarding Haku's sex Naruto had told them about. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, believe me. I got the iced clothes to prove it." Tazuna snorted and Tsunami laughed. "Seriously, never thought I'd get in that kind of situation with two girls on the same day..."

"Hmm? Two?" Both Tsunami and Naruto froze as they realized just what the blonde had let transpire. The shinobi cursed his mouth. "So, one of those girls _actually_ managed to get to you? You must be getting sloppy." Then they both sighed in relief. Shrugging, Tazuna got up from his table and headed for the back garden. "I'm going to take a nap."

After a couple minutes, when it was sure that Tazuna was indeed in the back garden, the two moved again. "Naruto, that was dangerous... I think dad would have an heart attack if he knew about _that_."

"S-Sorry." Naruto lowered his head, in shame. "Also, sorry I forced you to do something like that for me."

"Forced?" Tsunami blinked, confused. Then she understood. She shook her head, smiling. "Naruto, believe me, I could have thought of something else to help you."

"... You could have?" He blinked. "Then, why didn't you?"

"... Because I liked the idea." That simple admission caused Naruto to go scarlet. Tsunami smirked, then put on a mock-pout and touched her right cheek with the corresponding index finger. "Or am I not pretty enough? Maybe you don't like older women?"

"N-No! You're _really_ pretty! It's just... Huh..." The Uzumaki actually started fidgeting, unsure of what to say or where to look, which only served to amuse Tsunami more.

"Okay. Enough of that. I've got to think about lunch." She got up, and to a more attentive eye, the volute swing of her hips as she walked would have been apparent. Naruto was too focused on what was swung around more than if it was on purpose or not. Tsunami stopped at the door and turned to him. "Teriyaki sounds good?"

"... Perfect." Naruto answered. _'… Was I actually talking about Teriyaki?'_

-I-

"What a day..." In the end, he was finally able to take a bath in the large tub of Tazuna's house. "In the end, I didn't even find Ha-That girl." After lunch he had resumed his search for the mysterious doppelganger, this time using Kage Bunshin and Henge, but his search around town had proved as fruitless as that of the moring. Although the ending was kind of nice. Blushing at the memory, Naruto brought a hand to his lips. He could feel the warmth, the wetness... The taste of lemons. _'How strange. Nee-san doesn't wear lipgloss.'_

Although he had tried not to think about it, he couldn't help but stare at the woman's lips, and sometimes other parts, all day long. A couple times he had been caught staring. Fortunately, Tsunami just smiled as a reaction, like she enjoyed the attention. "... Man, Sakura-chan would kick my ass if she knew what I was thinking right now." _'I really, really liked it even if she only did it to help me. And I'd really, really like if it happened again.'_ And a small part of his mind told him that the hypothesis wasn't _that_ farfetched, since she had admitted that she did it because she liked the idea. Ergo, she liked the idea of kissing _him_. Ergo...

With a sigh, Naruto left the comfort of the bathtub. He had a meadow to visit, that night. _'It's the only lead I got left.'_ As he did, his messenger buzzed among his discarded clothes. The new message informed him that he had collected an 'Out of Season Hazel'.

-I-

"Ok. This time-Huh." As he was about to leave the house to head for the meadow, he found someone sitting on the porch. Initially he thought it was Tazuna as he laid eyes on the saucer and bottle laying nearby, but the old man didn't have black hair nor that kind of figure. A figure he had become strangely familiar with after being drawn to observe it the whole day. "Tsunami-nee-san?"

"Naruto." She called his name, without turning around. As he walked to her side, he blushed. Tsunami's nightrobe was kind of loose, leaving uncovered a shapely leg up to mid-tight and a good amount of cleavage. She was smiling, her cheeks flushed. She had been drinking, it seemed. She chuckled, noticing his staring. He had been doing that a lot, that day. She patted the spot by her side. He swallowed.

"So, huh... Couldn't sleep?" He sat down nonetheless.

"Nope. I've been in a good mood all day long. I kept on smiling and couldn't fall asleep." She confessed, turning in his direction. "All because of you."

"Ehm... I'm sorry?" She chuckled and leaned her head on his right shoulder. There it was, the scent of lemons.

"Don't be. I said I've been smiling, didn't I?" She sighed blissfully, which made her chest rise and drop slowly. Not that he was staring. No sir. "You see, Naruto, women like it when the people who they want to pay attention to them actually do pay attention to them."

"Really? Could have sworn otherwise..." He joked, remembering just how Sakura had always rewarded his _attention_. Tsunami just sighed again, and then kept her silence. Naruto didn't say anything either, holding still, letting her keep on using her as a headrest.

"Hey, Naruto." She suddenly let out, in a low voice.

"Y-Yeah?" He stuttered out.

"Was that your first kiss?" Was there any more blood that could go to his face? She smirked. "I knew it." She threw her hands around his body, leaning onto him as she laid her head in the crook of his neck. "Did you like it?"

"N-N-Nee-san, how much did you drink?" He said, his face aflame.

"Just a couple saucers. I'm not drunk, Naruto." She smiled, humming against his neck. "I'm just... Free of certain reservations, right now." Her left hand suddenly trailed up, making circles on his chest. His breath became faster.

"I-If you say so..." He shivered at the sensation and then gasped. Her other hand had just leaned on his right tight. The spot felt almost unbearably _hot_, and his blood although still rushing to his face, was now also heading in the _opposite direction_.

"Naruto... If you want to... We can do it again..." Her voice was now dangerously low and sultry, those lips he had lusted for all day breathing hot air against his ear. "We can do... _More_."

**1. _Graciously _accept the offer**

**2. Leave for the meadow**


	7. Graciously Accept the Offer

Well, pervertedness won! Let's see what that brought... Well, not really. The M-Rated scene can't be posted here, after all. To read it, you'll have to go to my blog. Enjoy what comes after!

_**M-Scene**_

-I-

_Seven Days Later_

"So... Nothing?" Naruto sighed, shaking his head.

"Nothing, Tsunami-nee-san. It's like she disappeared in thin air." That brought a smile to her face, despite herself.

"... Like a ghost?" Naruto groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"At this point, she might as well be." Narrator sighed. He had searched for the Haku sosia for seven days straight and found not a trace of her. "... I guess I have to face the fact that I'll probably never know the truth about her, and about how she's related to Haku."

"... I'm sorry, Naruto." Tsunami's joking mood came to a premature end as she realized just how distraught Naruto was for not finding out the truth. "Maybe if I had let you-"

"Nee-san, don't you think it's a bit _too late_ for regrets, now?" Naruto said, staring at her with a raised eyebrow. Then, he grinned. "I remind you being all smiles, the morning after."

"... True." She smiled. Seemed like Naruto always knew the right thing to say. Except for _that_ time. "... So, you're leaving?"

"Well, I'll stick around a few more days. But after that... I mean, mystery girl or not, there's no ghost. So, yeah. I'm going back home." Naruto admitted, leaning his chin on one of his hands, puffing in annoyance.

"I guess that was inevitable." _'Should I or should I not?'_ Tsunami had had something on her mind since that morning. Something that, by all means, he had a right to know, but she wasn't sure she should tell him. It was more her responsibility than-"Uhk!" She threw a hand to her mouth, her whole body shooting forward as she heaved and gasped.

"Tsunami-nee-san!" Naruto was immediately in front of her. She was pale in the face, trying to stop herself from throwing up. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah." In the end, she managed to rein her lunch in. She breathed deeply, calming her body down. Naruto slowly helped get back into a sitting position. "J-Just a bit of nausea."

"You should see a doctor. You were sick this morning as well, right?"

"... Yeah." She couldn't decide. Should she, or should she not _tell him_?

**-Bad End-**

**-Spoiled Hazel-**

_Suggestion: _You've got to learn _patience_, padawan

_**Choose how it continues on Storie in Rosso**_


	8. Leave for the Meadow

And thus, another ending, with another M-Rated scene only readable on my blog! And with this, we learn why it is so important to master patience, _padawan_! Enjoy!

**Leave for the Meadow**

"...Tsunami-nee-san, as _inviting_ your offer is..." Naruto sighed, already feeling regret for what he was about to do. He slowly removed the older woman's hands from his body, making her sit up properly and stare at him in the eyes. "I _have _to go. I have to _know_."

"Hmm... You're a pest." Tsunami pouted, crossing her arms and looking away. "Come on. Go find the young girl with the flawless skin and no stretch marks."

"Nee-san..." He whined. He would have preferred if she had gotten angry at him. How was he supposed to... "... I'll be back, you know." _'I think I've read it somewhere.'_

"... I guess I _might_ leave the bedroom's door open." Tsunami let out, rising slowly and brushing her right hand over Naruto's cheeks as she went back inside, Naruto following the sway of her hips all the way. "I may not be up all night, though."

"... I'll be back as soon as possible." He really would try to.

-I-

"... Seems like she's here tonight as well." _'Let's hope she doesn't ice me on sight.'_ Naruto's body shivered as he recalled the impossible temperatures it had dropped to after the blonde's incident with mammaries. The Haku-twin was once again standing in front of the grave, and the shinobi was now trying to gather enough courage to show his face again. _'So, how do I approach her without scaring her or getting turned into a cube of ice? Should-'_

"I know you're there, Naruto-san." Or she could have heard him arrive because of how much in a hurry he was, which caused him to make noise. He froze. "You may as well come out."

"... Please don't freeze me?" He said, slowly making his way through the bushes which delimited the meadow. She was looking his way, staring warily.

"I may have... _Overreacted_." She began as he stopped in front of her. She sighed, moving a stray lock of hair out of her face. "I understand you mistook me for someone else."

"... Yes. Someone who looked exactly like you... Well, who would look like you if he now was your age... Damn, let me start again." Naruto breathed in and out deeply. Up close the resemblance was even more unsettling. He remembered when he had thought he was prettier than his pink-haired team-mate. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, maybe you already know if the mess that happened in town today reached your ears."

"It was kind of hard _not _to notice, yes." She admitted, still staring him down with an inexpressive face.

"Well, I'm the one who they named the bridge after, and... I once knew someone who looked exactly like you." He moved his stare to the wooden cross. "The same person who's buried here." He finally found the courage to look at her in the eyes. "And I can't for the life of me understand how you can know that, nor how you're related."

"... So you knew him." The girl's gaze fell to the tomb, suddenly sad. Then, without saying a word, she sat on the grass in front of the marker. "If I sate your curiosity, could you tell me about him?"

"So, you didn't know him? Then how-" He paused. He realized that to have answers, he would do better to shut up and listen. He exhaled deeply, sitting on her left side. "... Go ahead."

"... My name is Saori." She began, keeping her eyes on the tomb marker. "How much do you know about his family?"

"... Before he died, he told me... Well..." There was no easy way to say something like that out loud. "He possessed a bloodline limit. Living in the Land of Mist... It didn't end well."

"Yes... What he didn't tell you, though-or better, he never knew-was about a peculiar characteristic of this bloodline limit." She held her hand up, steam rising up as the precarious ice crystals she created immediately evaporated upon coming in contact with air. "Males have almost no chance of inheriting it, while females _always_ do." She rotated the hand, letting a few gathered droplets splash on the blades of grass. "That's why our mother separated us at birth."

"Separated-!" All the pieces of information in his head clicked together, his head shooting up and staring at Saori. She smiled. "You... You and Haku..."

"... So his name was _Haku_." She crossed her arms on her knees and laid her head on them, looking at Naruto. "My foster parents were a couple of refugees who left Mist Country around the time my mother gave birth. They were the one who told me about her and my brother." She closed her eyelids. "It's sad that he died before we could have a chance to meet. He probably didn't even know of my existence."

"... No, he only mentioned his parents." He sighed. Yes, it was sad. "How did you hear about this place?"

"I'm just passing through this town with my parents. They're merchants. I was showing some of the local children my 'tricks' with ice, and one of them mentioned that a few years ago, a person who could do the same things was involved in this country's liberation. A kid a couple years his senior had told him about it, and also about the tomb's location." He had an inkling of who this older kid may be and from who he could have gotten that information himself. "I've been coming here all nights. I had no proof that this dead boy was my lost brother, but... I just had a feeling."

"I understand... And then I came." She chuckled at that.

"Yes. A blonde ninja who couldn't keep his hands to himself." He turned scarlet.

"W-Well, blame your brother for being prettier than most girls!" He groaned, holding his head. "Seriously, the first time I saw him, I thought he was the prettiest girl I'd ever seen! I _still _do!"

"... So, by proxy, _I'm _the prettiest woman you've ever seen?" His jaw went slack, paleness appearing on top of his blush. Saori chuckled some more, understanding that he feared another sub-zero treatment. "Compliments are okay, Naruto-san. I'm not going to freeze you solid for that." She raised her head, and again, a flashback. Haku also had the prettiest smile ever. On a clearly female, grown up version, it was just _dazzling_. "I believe you promised me an exchange of information, Naruto-san."

"... True." Grateful for the change of subject, Naruto stood up. Seemed like the mystery was solved. He offered his right hand to Saori. She accepted it, grasping it gently. "Mind if we go back to the house where I'm staying at? It's a bit depressing talking about him in front of his grave." As he said that, Naruto felt his messenger vibrate on the inner pocket of his jacket. As they travelled to Tazuna's house, he'd find out he had collected another Hazel.

-I-

_*chime* An out of season flower! How rare!_

-I-

"-And that's how... Well, there's no easy way to say it." They had reached Tazuna's house an hour or so before, and after pouring themselves something to drink-no alcohol-they had spent it in conversation, Naruto telling Saori of everything he knew about Haku, and of the events that ultimately led up to his death. "I... I accepted. I wasn't the one who actually did it, in the end, but..."

"It's okay, Naruto-san. No need to be so skittish." Saori rewarded his uneasiness with a warm smile. "I can't hold against you something which happened before I even knew I had a brother."

"... Still, I feel like-"

"Someone with memory problems." A different, slurry voice echoed from the stairs. Naruto only had to lift his head while Saori had to turn around to lay eyes on the source, who was descending the stairs to the upper floors with a pout and a red flush on her cheeks. "Bedroom door open? _Remember_?"

"T-Tsunami-nee-san!" Naruto flushed just as red as he stood up, an expression shared by Saori as the older woman made her way to the table, her robe as revealing as before he left, if not more.

"Honestly. Wasn't I enough? You're quite _greedy_, for a virgin." Saori turned back to Naruto, who lowered his head. He now found himself with the predicament of having to explain what the hell was happening in the room to Saori without letting it slide that Tsunami had offered to get _familiar_ with him, thus avoiding becoming Naruto On the Rocks again.

"_KYAA!_" The choice was taken out of his hands. He raised his head. His eyes bulged out. "W-W-WHAT'S WITH THIS TOWN AND MY _BREASTS_?"

"Hmm... Typical. All pretty and doll-like, but you ain't packing." Haku gasped in outrage as Tsunami retrieved her hands from the recesses of her kimono, throwing her hands upon to close the garment around her chest. Tsunami pouted a bit more, sauntering towards Naruto till she leaned on the table. With her chest. "You're not into pettanko only, are you, Naruto-kun?"

"... Tsunami-nee-san, are you _drunk_?" He stated, all his self-control going into not looking at Tsunami.

"I was wonewy!" She let out, sprawling on the table with face, chest and arms. "You were so late coming back, and the bottle looked _soooo_ inviting..."

"N-Naruto-san, who in blazes is this _mad_ woman?" Saori commented as she struggled to put together the front half of her kimono again.

"Someone who was being denied hanky-panky by you, _flat stuff_." Tsunami deadpanned, raising her head up from the table and smiling sultrily at Naruto. "Not anymore, though."

"T-T-Tsunami-nee-_WAH_!"

-I-

_Two Days Later_

"So, you're leaving?"

"Yes. My parents are done with their business, so we're going back home." Saori bowed, the bustling activity of carts being loaded providing a background to their goodbye. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Naruto-san. Thanks for what you've done for me."

"Ehm... No problem." Naruto blushed, and then Saori realized that what she said was really _generic_. Blushing, she straightened her posture.

"Let's... Not get carried away. I have a fiancee, back home. Let's just not mention _that_ any more, alright? Goodbye, Naruto-san." Naruto had the decency to _look_ guilty, even if he didn't really feel as such. Saori turned around, her parents calling for her. She suddenly stopped, though. "... My parents are going to open a new branch in Konoha, next month."

"Huh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. Saori said nothing and just resumed walking, eventually disappearing into one of the carts. He scratched his left cheek with a finger. "... Was that an invite?"

"Of course it was, Naruto." Tsunami chuckled, walking and stopping on Naruto's left said, pushing him playfully on the shoulders. "Seems like she was really _appreciative_. I kind of feel sorry for that fiancee of hers. Although it's probably an omiai. Merchants do that kind of stuff."

"... I guess." Naruto smiled, crossing his hands behind his head. "Well, I guess I'd better start preparing. I leave tomorrow morning."

"Hmm, no, not really. You're going to leave after lunch." Tsunami corrected him, earning confusion from him. Smiling, she latched onto his left arm. "Believe me, Naruto. With what I've prepared for you tonight, you're never going to be able to get an early rise, tomorrow morning."

"... We're talking about food, right?" Tsunami chuckled and started dragging Naruto away, who just grinned sheepishly, thinking how, for once, his life was _good_.

**Good End**

_Congratulations!_

_You completed the __**Hazel Route**__!_

_**Choose how it continues on Storie in Rosso**_


	9. Announcement

Hello, thar. Meinos Kaen here!

A bit of bad news today, guys. I'm sorry. As two people have made me notice, this story goes _against _site policies. And since I wouldn't want to risk banning, I've decided to stop posting it on here. Corridor of Uncertainty is now an _exclusive _for my site, **Storie In Rosso dot com**.

I will leave the parts updated until now up till Monday, then I will remove them as well, only leaving this note in the story. Sorry for the trouble, but as I've said, the story is just losing a home. It's still going strong on my site.

Meinos Kaen out!


End file.
